LogFAQs > #890717469

How many interpretations of Black Santa are there? I'm sure he's more prevalent in cartoon shows now, but the only interpretations of Santa as a black man which I recall are from an episode of Family Matters and the music video for Run DMC's Christmas in Hollis.

And even having no problem with that interpretation of Santa, I don't think you can completely shut out white interpretations of Santa. You can point to a carton of Coca-Cola and say that the man on the box is Santa's husband, but what are you gonna do when a white Santa shows up in something your kid's watching? Even if you set the parental controls to block Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, a white Santa will still appear in other shows and your kid will still see advertisements for the interpretations which they won't get to see. And how are you gonna keep the kids at school from telling your child that Santa is white or that he has a wife? If your child sees a set of salt and pepper shakers shaped like Mr & Mrs Claus, are you gonna explain that it's Santa's husband and Santa's husband's sister?

It's kind of a ruse to begin with to tell children that there's a Santa Claus, but this is turning it into a conspiracy. And it likely won't be a very fruitful one. It's kind of like trying to convince your child that Spider-Man is dating Batman. As soon as they watch or read an adaptation, or hear a contradictory word from someone who has, they're gonna know it's not true.

They'd be better off just to admit that Santa is a fictional character and explain that they like this interpretation better -- even if they don't have to explain why. I admire the desire to give their child a positive role model who is both LGBT and a person of color, but this just doesn't seem like a feasible outlet.